Editing Platformer (section)

===Single screen===
{{See also|Wraparound (video games)|Flip-screen}}
[[File:Donkey Kong Screen 3.png|thumb|This ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'' (1981) level demonstrates jumping between platforms, the genre's defining trait.]]

The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping.<ref name="bycer deep dive"/> ''[[Space Panic]]'', a 1980 arcade release by [[Universal Entertainment|Universal]], is sometimes credited as the first platformer.<ref>{{cite book|title=Chris Crawford on Game Design|isbn=0-88134-117-7|last=Crawford|first=Chris|title-link=Chris Crawford on Game Design|author-link=Chris Crawford (game designer)|year=2003|publisher=New Riders}}</ref> Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was [[Nichibutsu]]'s ''[[Crazy Climber]]'', in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers.<ref>{{KLOV game|id=7426|name=Crazy Climber}}</ref> The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game ''Hard Hat'' has a similar concept.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.gamesdatabase.org/game/mattel-intellivision/hard-hat | title=Hard Hat - Mattel Intellivision - Games Database }}</ref>

''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'', an [[arcade video game]] created by [[Nintendo]] and released in July 1981, was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=donkey-kong&page=detail&id=666| title=Donkey Kong| publisher=Arcade History| date=2006-11-21| access-date=2006-11-21| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020111301/http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=donkey-kong&page=detail&id=666| archive-date=2007-10-20| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GamesRadar-3">{{cite web|title=Gaming's most important evolutions|page=3|publisher=[[GamesRadar]]|date=Oct 8, 2010|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/gamings-most-important-evolutions/a-20101008102331322035/p-3|access-date=2011-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319153722/http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/?page=3|archive-date=March 19, 2012|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> It introduced [[Mario]] under the name Jumpman. ''Donkey Kong'' was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for [[ColecoVision]],<ref>{{cite web |title=ColecoVision FAQ |url=http://www.colecoboxart.com/faq/FAQ01.htm |access-date=2018-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201161250/http://www.colecoboxart.com/faq/FAQ01.htm |archive-date=2017-12-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coleco Donkey Kong |url=http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Coleco/DK.htm |website=Handheld Museum |access-date=2018-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105212725/http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Coleco/DK.htm |archive-date=2018-01-05 |url-status=live }}</ref> The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in the video game industry internationally.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harris|first=Blake J.|date=2014-05-14|title=The Rise of Nintendo: A Story in 8 Bits|url=https://grantland.com/features/the-rise-of-nintendo-video-games-history/|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Grantland|language=en-US}}</ref>

Games with ladders and platforms rapidly followed from other developers, such as ''[[Kangaroo (video game)|Kangaroo]]'', ''[[BurgerTime]]'', ''[[Canyon Climber]]'', and ''[[Ponpoko]]'', all from 1982. Also from the same year, ''[[Miner 2049er]]'' shipped with ten screens vs. ''Donkey Kong''{{'}}s four. ''[[Jumpman (video game)|Jumpman]]'' (1983) upped the count to 30. ''[[Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory]]'' (1984) includes a level editor. 

''Donkey Kong'' received a sequel, ''[[Donkey Kong Junior (video game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'' (1982) and then ''[[Mario Bros.]]'' (1983), a platformer with two-player [[Cooperative video game|cooperative play]]. It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as ''[[Fairyland Story]]'' and ''[[Bubble Bobble]]''.

Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's ''[[Pitfall!]]'' for the [[Atari 2600]], with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. ''[[Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle]]'' was released on the [[ColecoVision]] that same year, adding uneven terrain and [[Panning (camera)|scrolling pans]] between static screens. ''[[Manic Miner]]'' (1983) and its sequel ''[[Jet Set Willy]]'' (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on [[home computer]]s. ''[[Wanted: Monty Mole]]'' won the first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from ''Crash'' magazine.<ref>{{citation|title=Readers' Awards|url=http://www.crashonline.org.uk/12/awards.htm|publisher=Crash|issue=12|year=1984–1985|access-date=13 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418044804/http://www.crashonline.org.uk/12/awards.htm|archive-date=18 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Later that same year, [[Epyx]] released ''[[Impossible Mission]]'', and [[Parker Brothers]] released ''[[Montezuma's Revenge (video game)|Montezuma's Revenge]]'', which further expanded on the exploration aspect.